Bedside manner II – Hearts in Bloom
by Orion Matrix
Summary: The Sequel to Bedside Manner. After Ruby's food poisoning, she and Weiss grew closer, as both partners and friends. But as Ruby's birthday draws near, Weiss finds it more and more difficult to keep her feelings purely platonic, unaware that Ruby is in the same situation.
1. Chapter 1

Bedside Manner II – Hearts in Bloom  
>By<br>Orion Matrix

Chapter one – Preparations

Beacon academy was as lively as ever, the students studying in class, with varying levels of success, or taking part in combat exercises with the rest of their teams, be it in the training arena, or in the forests around the prestigious academy.

Team RWBY were now in the arena, partaking in a two-on-two style duel. They had been separated into their respective pairs, Yang and Blake against Weiss and Ruby. Glynda Goodwitch stood off to the side overseeing the battle while other students in the class simply stood and stared, slack-jawed and awed as the four girls took their combat to levels the class had never conceived.

Yang remained back from the core of the battle, continuing to offer long-range cover for Blake while continuing to avoid shots from Ruby, her repeated sniper fire forcing Yang to move every few moments and reducing the effectiveness of her cover to that of a mere nuisance, leaving Weiss virtually unchallenged as she entered into close range sparing with Blake. It certainly didn't help that with every few shots Ruby relocated herself before Yang could get a bead on her younger sister, and with all this she was somehow able to fire off an occasional shot that made Blake have to dive out of the way, unable to put as much pressure on Weiss as she would have liked.

That wasn't to say that Ruby and Weiss were having an easy time of it, despite using training ammunition, Ruby was still using a high-powered sniper rifle, and needed to be careful to never aim above the torso lest she take out a team mates eye with her shots. And as for Weiss, she was starting to become rather frustrated at Blake's agility and combat flexibility.

'It's understandable though, what with her heritage.' Weiss thought with minor annoyance, dodging out of the way of a katana strike from the slightly older girl. The recent revelation that Blake was actually a Faunus had rocked the entire team. It happened almost a month ago, and there was not a single member of the team who had been unaffected. Weiss herself found it particularly difficult to deal with.

They had managed to get into another argument about the White Fang, and while Blake didn't deny everything that Weiss had said about the organisation, she was obviously becoming more and more upset as Weiss referred to the members of the White fang as psychotic murderers.

It got to the point where Weiss revealed that she had seen what the White Fang were capable of and told how she and her family were victims of the White Fang's aggression, painfully telling of how friends and family had been persecuted and killed by the White Fang for decades, not seeing the sadness that clouded Blake's face.

As Ruby tried desperately to calm her partner with a gentle hand on her shoulder, Weiss had finally snapped, screaming at Blake how the White Fang were a bunch of psychotic murdering madmen who held no restraint and would kill anyone in their way and have done for years, be they innocent or not.

When Ruby had touched Weiss' shoulder, a sudden, horrifying thought tore through her head, and her mind conjured the scene of Ruby being kidnapped, tortured and then murdered by the White Fang, if for no more reason than the girl was associated with Weiss, and therefore the Schnee Dust Company.

Just the mere thought terrified the heiress to the deepest part of her soul, and it had pushed her well past her limits, the thought of Ruby being hurt because of her being more than her secretly fragile heart could bear.

"Well maybe we were tired of being pushed around!"

Blake's answering scream had stopped the argument dead in its tracks, and left everyone staring at her in shock and disbelief. After a moment, looking around with growing fear, Blake had charged out of the room so fast that none of them could even follow the movement, let alone even consider catching her. All the while, Blake's words echoed through their minds.

'We' was the key word in that statement, the one that none of the girls could seem to get passed. Weiss could barely handle it, laying on her bed and curling into a ball, the thought that she had lived with a member of the White Fang causing her blood to run cold. It was even worse knowing that she considered Blake to be a friend, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking of Blake as such.

They had found Blake a few days later, in a quiet corner of the academy grounds that was rarely travelled by students. Yang had insisted they look for her, wanting to make sure her partner was alright, and Ruby had instantly agreed to help, her nature ensuring she could do no less.

Weiss however was still afraid and conflicted, and the only reason she decided to go was so that she could protect Ruby if Blake decided to lash out. But inside her mind, she couldn't give the thought any truthful credit, because as much as she tried to deny it, she was worried about Blake as well.

As they saw the Faunus girl curled up and quietly crying, Weiss felt her heart go out to her, the sympathy surprising, but intense. Blake had seen them and tried to run away, but Ruby had been prepared for this and tackled the older girl, wrapping her arms around Blake's waist and not letting go, no matter how hard Blake screamed and struggled.

When Yang, and eventually Weiss, had joined in, holding Blake gently and supportively, Blake had finally broken down sobbing for over an hour, holding on to those dear to her. After a time they went back to their dorm room and they had talked about everything, or more accurately, Blake had talked while the others had listened.

Blake spoke of the abuse she had suffered at the hands of people prejudiced against the Faunus, and had even shown them some of the scars that adorned her back, earning shock from her team mates, and how she had learned that the White Fang were fighting for Faunus liberation and equality, something that Blake wanted with all her heart.

She then spoke of her time with the organisation, attending every rally and demonstration, moving up to become an active participant of the group's operations, and how after the White Fang's leadership had changed, the missions she went on becoming more and more violent.

She had steadfastly refused to kill anyone, and the White Fang higher-ups had reluctantly conceded to this, sending her on missions where a body count was not essential, but they assigned her a partner, someone who was willing to get their hands dirty if it became necessary, or possible.

Finally Blake told them of her last mission, a raid on a Schnee Dust Company train carrying a huge cargo of dust, and how Blake's partner Adam had been so willing to kill the train's crew members, much to Blake's horror. Weiss had stiffened at this, but when Blake explained how she had left, severing the train cart connection, she had remembered the incident Blake was talking about, an incident that happened over half a year before.

The rear coaches had contained small amounts of worn out refining equipment, some unprocessed dust and defensive androids that had been made to defend the company's mining operations, although they were programmed to activate in the event of an attack on the train. But the more valuable refined dust was in the forward coaches, just behind the locomotive along with the train's crew members.

Blake's actions had left the White Fang with unprocessed dust which was difficult enough to refine with top of the range equipment, and what machinery the White Fang recovered was next to useless. The operation ended up costing the white fang far more than they gained, and even if she wanted to Blake could never go back to the White Fang, knowing that she would be shot on sight as a traitor.

Weiss still had some reservations on trusting Blake that she couldn't get over, but Blake's next words had soothed them drastically.

"I joined the White Fang because I wanted to make things better for the Faunus of the world, so they wouldn't be persecuted, hated, just for being a little different. But the group I joined changed and I didn't see the White fang any more, it was so corrupted and bloodstained, they should have called themselves the Black Fang. They think killing for the cause is justified, but...no matter how badly I was hurt as a child, I never wanted to kill anyone. I'm not a murderer."

The team stayed in their dorm, talking long into the night, and it became clear to the upset and still somewhat frightened Faunus that she was safe here. She was shocked though when Weiss had hesitantly apologised, not for what she had said in general, but for unknowingly implying that Blake was a murderer.

Both girls remained hesitant around each other for a few days, but as the old adage says, 'time heals all wounds' and eventually they were comfortable working together again.

"Would you stop jumping around so I can freeze you already!?" Weiss called out, growling as Blake jumped out of the way of Weiss' ice attack with a small smile on her face.

"I'd rather not if you don't mind." Blake had replied, firing off a few shots with Gambol Shroud and forcing Weiss to back away.

"As a matter of fact I do mind!"

From her place away from her two team mates, Ruby smiled, knowing that it had been so difficult for Blake and Weiss to get over the events of the last few weeks. Despite everything, it made her happy to see the girls swapping playful banter.

The current situation had actually turned out better than they had thought. After Glynda had explained the exercise today, Ruby had spoken quietly to Yang, and both sisters had decided to stay out of the main Duel, letting their partners spar with each other and work through any leftover tension.

Ruby had told Yang the other day that Weiss, while doing better working with Blake, still felt a little uncomfortable, and wasn't very surprised when Yang said Blake was in the same boat, so letting their partners cut loose on the arena floor sounded like a very good idea.

"Ruby! Left side!"

Ruby blinked and jumped to the right, suddenly bringing up Crescent Rose to her left hand side to defend against Gambol Shroud. Before Ruby could say anything, Weiss leaped over and swiped with Myrtenaster, forcing Blake to disengage and move back.

"What happened?" Ruby called to her partner with surprise, both moving closer and standing almost back-to-back to guard against attacks from any side, noting Yang moving around the arena more than she had been before.

"I'd guess that Blake's had enough of the chit chat and wants to get down to business. And by the way...thanks, I know you set this up; it's just like you." Weiss turned to her partner and smiled softly.

Ruby for her part just blushed uncomfortably, surprised she had been found out so quickly.

"W-well I...your welcome." Ruby tried to brush the situation off, but found she couldn't, just chuckling as she switched Crescent Rose to its Scythe mode. "What about you? Done with the 'Chit-chat' too?"

Weiss was about to respond when Yang fired a few shots towards her and Ruby. Bringing Myrtenaster down hard on the ground, a wall of ice erupted between the two pairs, blocking the shots easily. Weiss stood up and smirked confidently at Ruby.

"Yeah I'd say we're finished. Now I think it's about time we showed those two how it's done and win this thing."

Ruby just grinned, knowing that Weiss was truly having fun for the first time in a very long while. It warmed her deeply to see Weiss finally starting to relax and enjoy herself during their lessons, to the point where she would even join in with the antics of her team mates. Never during the theory lessons, it had to be said, but these things take time.

Spinning Crescent Rose behind her and brining it forward into a determined ready stance, Ruby smirked at her friend.

"Then let's Dance partner."

On the other side of the field, Yang and Blake had regrouped after Weiss put up her ice shield, and the partners immediately started planning.

"Ok, I know Ruby's attacks like the back of my hand, she'll use Crescent Rose' Sniper as a propellant and take advantage of the confusion it causes to attack from just about any angle. But if you get close enough you'll force her into a defensive stance. At close Range CR will probably end up knocking you away with a nasty lump, but the fact is Ruby isn't too good at *very-close* range, that's the best way to get her." Yang instructed, completely ignoring the fact that all the girls knew their team mates fighting styles quite well, having learned them over the last few months.

Blake nodded, knowing all of this, but appreciating the reminder none the less. In the heat of battle, some remembered lessons and information can occasionally fly out the window, so the brief refresher was useful.

"Thanks, and Weiss is exceptionally skilled in very-close range fighting, mostly fencing style sword play, but her Dust abilities make her very dangerous, she can immobilize opponents with Ice or using glyphs, and then move in to do serious damage. Best way to stop her is to overwhelm her with long-range fire, and when she gets tired, move in fast."

Yang nodded, remembering that Weiss was trained mainly for duelling with swords, so the heiress had to rely on her dust for any long-range opponent.

"Ok, so you'll go for Ruby and I'll go for the princess then?" Yang asked eagerly, her hair already shifting as if it was being played with by heat eddies. Blake simply shook her head and smiled at this behaviour, knowing that her partner liked a good scrap as much as Blake herself liked a good book.

"Sounds like a plan, let hope it's as effective as your plan with Ruby earlier." Under her bow, Blake felt her ears twitch in satisfaction as Yang blinked in surprise.

"What plan? I don't know what you're talking about!" The blonde asked, grinning sheepishly and rubbing the back of her head.

Blake simply shook her head with a bemused smile before she brought Gambol Shroud up into a ready stance, noting that in the heat of the Arena, Weiss' ice wall was starting to crack, melt, and fall apart.

Yang followed her partners lead, glad that she seemed to be off the hook. The fact was that Blake didn't like people playing her or messing with her life, it reminded her too much of the last few months she spent in the White Fang before she left the group, and although it was with the best of intentions, the fact is that Yang had pretty much done exactly that with Ruby. But Blake knew that the sisters had done it with the intention to help, not to cause upset, so it didn't really bother her.

In fact, she felt truly touched that the sisters cared enough to try to help her work through her difficulties with their teammate, and because of that she couldn't feel upset.

Weiss and Ruby were also quickly planning what they would do in the next few moments.

"What do you think we should do?" Ruby asked Weiss, tasking a quick glance at Crescent Rose to make sure it was still ready for battle.

"Knowing your sister and Blake they're hoping to draw us into short-range fighting. That's ok for me but you'll be limited, you usually cut your enemy into pieces when they get that close, and that wouldn't go down to well with Goodwitch if you cut Yang or Blake in half." Weiss spoke thoughtfully, noticing Ruby frown in agreement.

"I wouldn't like that too much either." Ruby muttered with obvious concern.

"How fast can you spin Crescent Rose? Fast enough to block shots from Ember Celica?" Weiss asked suddenly, the corner of her mouth twitching up slightly at the adorably confused look on Ruby's face.

"Uhh...I think so...why?"

"I think Yang will target me, and pepper me with long-range fire to make me use up all of my dust and then come in to finish me off. And I think Blake will try to attack you going into close range knowing you won't use any fatal attacks. What I'm thinking is make it seem like that plan will work then suddenly swap targets, you blocking Yang and firing back while I go after Blake. Then when they seem to get over the surprise we switch again. The more we do that the more unbalanced they will get and then we can capitalise on their confusion and take them out."

Ruby looked at her 'sweetheart' appraisingly, hefting it slightly and thinking about Weiss' plan. Usually whenever Crescent Rose was moving that fast, Ruby was moving with it, she had never been in a situation where she needed to spin her weapon that fast when not moving and wasn't entirely sure if she could manage it.

Weiss saw the uncertainty on Ruby's face and reached over, putting her hand on her team leader's shoulder, smiling reassuringly as Ruby looked back in surprise.

"I know you can do it Ruby, don't worry." Weiss' gentle words of encouragement calmed Ruby's concerns, and she nodded her head with a determined smile.

With a sudden series of loud cracks, the ice wall in front of the two pairs shattered, disintegrating into tiny shards reminiscent of stars that fell to the floor of the arena, disappearing from view.

"Ready or not here comes trouble!" Yang yelled, charging forward with Blake at her side.

Ruby and Weiss glared at their opponents, holding their ground side by side until the very last moment. After a split second it became obvious that Weiss' guess had been completely accurate, Blake moving quickly towards Ruby and Yang taking aim at Weiss with Ember Celica.

When Blake was only three strides away from engaging Ruby, and Yang started firing at Weiss, the two partners shot into action, Ruby moving forward and spinning Crescent Rose at an almost impossible speed, her teeth clenched in concentration as Yang's shots impacted harmlessly with Ruby's blade.

At the same time Weiss passed behind Ruby and quickly locked blades with Blake, Gambol Shroud and Myrtenaster impacting with a resounding clang that echoed throughout the arena. Weiss took a moment of satisfaction as she saw Blake's eyes go wide in surprise, realising that their plan had been perfectly predicted and ripped to pieces almost instantly.

The blades of the two weapons sparked brightly against each other as the girls jumped back, getting a short amount of distance between them before they charged in again to attack. At the same time, Ruby suddenly jumped up and transformed Crescent Rose and fired a few shots at Yang, who swore loudly and jumped out of the way.

After regaining her bearings from the unexpected move, Yang's eyes narrowed in sinister pleasure, and started running towards Ruby, still firing every other step and dodging Ruby's sniper fire. The gap between the sisters was closing rapidly, and Ruby moved back a few steps, a nervous sweat beading over her brow.

Unexpectedly Ruby and Weiss came together back to back, Blake and Yang closing in rapidly and raising their respective weapons for the finishing blow, and without a word or glance the girls spun around and brought their weapons up to defend against the incoming attacks.

Another even louder metallic crash echoed through the arena as the four weapons of team RWBY collided, and the assembled audience looked on incredulously, no one having expected that move.

Without wasting any time, Ruby and Weiss went on the offensive, striking quickly at Yang and Blake, forcing the young women back and into a desperate defensive stance. Glynda looked on at the flow of the battle, deeply impressed at what she was seeing. Ruby and Weiss having predicted the attack of their team mates was impressive enough, but somehow the two had managed to manoeuvre their attackers into position to completely turn the tables, and were now pushing their targets back, isolating them from their partner yet keeping themselves covered from a rear attack.

So surprised and impressed was she that Glynda didn't even remember to call time on the Duel, the ten minute time limit having expired just after the unexpected reversal.

Again almost as if it had been communicated, Ruby and Weiss swept their legs forward at the same time and tripped their opponents, causing them to fall to the ground with surprised grunts and cries of shock. As Blake and Yang opened their eyes after their fall, they stopped seeing the blades of their opponents pointed directly at them, no one daring to move.

The Duel was won.

"And Time! That was an extremely impressive display ladies. You all did very well, demonstrating intuition, efficient tactics, and improvisation. You should all be proud." Glynda called across the arena as Weiss and Ruby helped their team mates up. Blake smiled slightly at Ruby, noting the younger girl grinning brightly, and Weiss forced herself to keep her face neutral, lest the pouting blond saw the heiress smiling.

"That's so not fair! We should have creamed you!"

Weiss allowed herself to smile slightly, but did her best to keep it friendly.

"Well I'm sure you and Blake will pulverize us next time."

Yang's grin turned slightly feral and she nodded confidently at Blake, who along with Ruby had joined up with the current talk.

"Oh trust me; next time you won't know what hit you!" Yang said, going over to Blake and initiating a series of high Fives with the slightly bemused Faunus. Weiss and Ruby simply looked at each other with a smile, Weiss winking in a conspiring manner causing Ruby to giggle.

"Alright girls, we're still in a class." Glynda Goodwitch called with an amused voice, and team RWBY immediately walked over and stepped off the arena floor to join the rest of their class mates.

"Ok, now there were several elements in that Duel that could have been improved on, nothing major, just some polish if anything," Glynda said to the class, casting a friendly smile to Team RWBY's members to make sure they didn't think she was picking on them before turning back to the rest of the class. "Did anyone pick up on anything off?"

The class seemed to remain silent for a few moments before a hand in the back row raised and drew the attention of the whole class.

"Mister Winchester? Your thoughts?" Glynda asked, her brow rising imperceptibly.

"Yeah I spotted something, why was the team leader not leading?" Cardin stated, his overly confident smirk making him look like a preening bird.

Cardin Winchester is a student who didn't really inspire any favour within the school's faculty for a very simple reason; he's the quintessential school bully. Several teachers have noticed his lack-lustre attention, often appearing dismissive of teachers and students alike during lessons, and he has been reported for many counts of bullying during lunch breaks, most notably against Velvet Scarlatina and Jaune Arc.

The only people who seemed to get along with Cardin were the other members of team CRDL who seemed to greatly approve of his bullying but were the first ones to leave should anyone stand up to him.

Glynda gave the student the attention required by her position but wasn't expecting anything particularly insightful, yet her attention was caught when she noted that Weiss, Blake and Yang had stiffened in clear annoyance, and Ruby herself seemed almost nervous.

Glynda had a sinking feeling that the bully had found a new victim.

"All through that 'Fight'," Cardin said, punctuating fight with air quotes. "All I could see was Schnee telling Rose what to do at every step, jump to the right, do this and do that. The leader is supposed to give orders to the subordinates! Not the other way around!"

"Actually it was 'Left side' Mister Winchester." Glynda responded with a cool tone, knowing that the situation was coming dangerously close to spiralling out of control, considering the glares being directed at Cardin by three quarters of Team RWBY, specifically from Yang who looked as if she was getting worryingly close to losing her temper.

"Left, right, what's it matter? The point is a leader's job is to LEAD, not follow! A leader who doesn't give direction in battle sounds like a pretty pathetic leader to me." Cardin retorted, insulted that Glynda had pointed out his obvious mistake. Once he finished speaking however his self-satisfied smirk was back in full force, and seemed to grow larger when his team mates made sounds of agreement behind him.

"Why don't you come over here and say that to my FACE Cardin!?" Yang yelled out, her eyes starting to turn a bright red once she noticed the dejected look on Ruby's face.

Ruby herself couldn't help but feel very small at that moment, because after all was said and done, Cardin was right; she hadn't given a single order throughout the Duel, just followed instructions given to her.

The fact was that Ruby still had quite a few self-esteem issues to deal with, especially when doubts arose about her position as leader, sometimes she felt like she just wasn't good enough for the role. It was something that didn't come up often, but her team always did their best to reassure Ruby that she was doing well.

Weiss, having noticed Ruby's deteriorating mood, immediately moved over to her partner, putting a comforting hand around Ruby's shoulders. Ruby tried weakly to pull away but when Weiss' grip remained strong, she instead just turned her head away sadly. Idly Weiss noticed that the class's attention was on the brewing argument between Yang, Cardin, and Goodwitch, and she capitalised on the distraction immediately.

"Don't listen to that buffoon Ruby; you're doing a great job as leader." Weiss spoke with gentle tones and a bright smile, hoping to cheer Ruby up, but her smile slipped a little as Ruby's shoulders dipped lower.

"Thanks for trying Weiss, but you know he's right, I'm just not cut out for this..." Ruby muttered, trying to fight back tears.

Weiss frowned before turning Ruby around and pulling the younger girl into a warm hug, ignoring the way Ruby stiffened at the unexpected contact, and briefly considered how much she had changed in the two and a half months since Ruby came down with food poisoning. Before that incident, which still caused her to shudder with equal parts anger and worry whenever she thought about it, Weiss would have never dreamed of being so affectionate with the younger girl.

The fact was she knew that things had changed irrevocably between her and Ruby, that her feelings wouldn't let her just stand idly by and tell her partner to just suck it up and get on with the lessons as she would have three months ago.

She couldn't stand seeing Ruby so upset.

"Ruby, remember what I said that night after Professor Port's first class? I said I think you have what it takes to be a good leader. The only thing I was wrong about is that you're learning to be a _great_ leader. I can see it every time there's an exercise; you're paying more attention to what resources you have available and relying on your team more and more. And you have something that moron doesn't; you have the loyalty and support of Weiss Schnee, something few if any could even hope to brag about."

It took a few moments, but Weiss eventually felt Ruby returning the hug, and she could almost feel the smile on Ruby's face.

"Thanks Weiss, you're the best."

Meanwhile, Glynda was trying to keep some kind of order, and having a rather difficult time of it. After Yang's 'response' to Cardin the class had started discussing things rather loudly, some almost agreeing with Cardin but most were shocked at the bully's audacity. It took a few moments but eventually the class calmed, and Glynda could turn her attention on the two still glaring students.

"Miss Xiao Long, please restrain yourself, this is a class, not a bar. And although it could have been delivered in a less confrontational manner, Mister Winchester dose have a partly valid point. Can anyone here give me a reason why Miss Rose's actions were not entirely inappropriate?"

Glynda made sure to cast a severe look at Cardin when mentioning his confrontational attitude, and turned around, indicating Ruby, who the woman noticed with relief was smiling again and paying polite attention, Weiss standing at her side and offering support. The sight of Weiss' arm still around Ruby's shoulders made the teacher smile before she turned her attention back to the class.

For a moment no one said anything, either not sure of the answer or not wanting to incur the burden of Cardin's wrath should someone shoot his argument down. However the response came from a rather unexpected source.

Standing at Glynda's left hand side opposite team RWBY, Jaune Arc and team JNPR were listening to everything that had been said but didn't get involved, they wanted to stand up for their friends, but none of them could really think of anything to add to the discussion. However when Goodwitch had asked the class for their thoughts, Pyrrha gently nudged Jaune in the ribs with her elbow, smiling encouragingly as he looked at her with confusion. After a moment, he nodded and raised his hand hesitantly, catching Goodwitch's attention.

"Mister Arc? Your thoughts?"

"Y-yeah, well...It's true that the leader's job is to direct things in battle but sometimes battle can change things completely, and a leader has to be able to listen to good advice and not just giving orders. If you don't listen to the rest of your team you could miss something important, or the team members could have an idea that's better and safer."

Pyrrha nodded kindly with a soft smile, even as Jaune felt like shrinking considering the looks his classmates were giving him.

"That's...very insightful Mister Arc, and absolutely correct. Mister Winchester, you would do well to consider this in the future." Glynda said, getting over her surprise and casting a significant look at Cardin, who was quietly fuming. He knew there wasn't much that he could do, especially after the events of Forever Fall a few months earlier where Jaune had actually saved Cardin from an Ursa. After all, it was only fun for him when his targets didn't stand up for themselves and fight back.

Before Glynda could say anything more, a chime echoed throughout the arena, indicating the end of classes.

"Alright class that's it for this morning. After lunch we'll be in Professor Port's class while he's taking another class on a field trip. Make sure you collect your text books before class, because we'll be working on something a little different today. Dismissed." Glynda called after checking her watch. She looked at the students and nodded politely, smiling ever so slightly towards Team RWBY, specifically Ruby, before she turned away and walked out of the arena, heading to the office she shares with Ozpin.

The students all started to exit the arena, after Cardin and his team had stormed out ahead of everyone else. Team RWBY ended up following everyone else out and soon found themselves walking toward the cafeteria with team JNPR.

"I hope you didn't pay too much attention to Cardin, Ruby, you know that he'll take advantage of any opening, no matter what it is." Ren said almost immediately, looking towards Ruby with a friendly half smile.

"He's right Ruby, I didn't see anything wrong with that battle myself." Pyrrha piped in, wanting to add her view into the situation as she walked next to Jaune, both of them ignoring how close they currently were to each other. Be that deliberate or not, no one would ever know.

"And next time he says anything just let me know ok?! I'll be happy to break his legs for you!" Nora called out enthusiastically, prompting her friends to all chuckle nervously. It was always difficult to tell if the excitable girl was joking or not.

"Errr...hehe, thanks Nora but its ok, I don't think that will be necessary." Ruby said with a nervous laugh. Thankfully Nora didn't seem disappointed. Her offers of excessive violence had been turned down so often that she was probably used to it by now.

As the group walked down the hallway with Ruby leading the way to the cafeteria, Weiss put a small part of her plan into action and very quietly slipped an envelope into Pyrrha's hand, holding up a finger to her lips to ask the older girl to not say anything, and receiving a curious nod in response.

Weiss was mentally reviewing everything she needed to do, mindful to keep her expression neutral in case Ruby spotted anything. Yang and Blake were already in on the secret, and there were only two more people to talk to and the surprise would be just about ready.

Weiss had been looking forward to this day for the last three weeks, and she made sure not to let slip the reason she was so happy recently.

Today was Ruby's 16th birthday.

End of chapter one

Well people have asked for a sequel, and I'm happy to say that's what you are all getting!

I'm sorry for the wait, things have been hectic what with the Christmas period and all, but I'm slowly but surely getting things sorted with this story. This time though I'm not going to put it all into one chapter and split it up, it felt really weird having to split it up, especially because I had a lot of trouble getting things in place so that the separations didn't feel forced.

Now, I am going to continue this story, don't you worry about that, but it will take some time, just like everyone else I have real life commitments that eat into a lot of my personal time and I have trouble getting the opportunity to write, especially when I get hit with writer's block, and that's the reason this took a bit longer to release than I would have liked.

I've added a link to my Deviant art page on my profile, there's a picture there that I made and if you enjoy Bedside Manner and this story I think you may like it. Please take a look when you have the chance. That pic is also the story image I'm using as well.

I'll get the second chapter posted as soon as I can, so bear with me.

All the best.

Orion Matrix


	2. Chapter 2

EMERGENCY AUTHORS NOTE – READ THIS NOW

I received a notification on my facebook from Roosterteeth and the news was not good, Apparently Monty Oum is currently in critical condition in hospital. (Current as of 02:30 GMT, 31/01/15)

The following is the post made by Burnie Burns on behalf of Roosterteeth at 4:15 PM CST 30/1/15.

**Monty Oum hospitalized**

It is with great regret that I must inform you that our co-worker and our dear friend, Monty Oum, has had a medical emergency. He is currently hospitalized in critical care and it is not known if he will recover. He is receiving the best medical care possible and is surrounded by both family and friends who love him very much. While we wanted you to know as soon as possible, we also have the utmost respect for Monty's privacy and we hope you will understand and share in that respect.

Monty is a tremendous talent who has accomplished so much in his young life. He has an amazing creative ability and the drive to put it to use. That is a rare combination and we are proud to have shared in it. We expect that this news will be shocking to most of you and very difficult to process. It has been for many of us as well. Our hearts are with Monty, his wife Sheena and his brothers & sisters. They will need your good thoughts, your prayers, whatever kindness you have to offer.

I'm posting this here as well as what I have currently for my story not to scare anyone or to try and get attention for my story, but to let other fans of the show know what has happened. This story has over 200 followers, and each and every one is a fan of the show, and I know that they will want to know what has happened as soon as possible.

I will put a direct link to the RoosterTeeth post regarding this situation on my profile, it has a further section at the bottom asking for donations to help with medical costs.

I want every RoosterTeeth and RWBY fan there is to know what is going on so that they are kept informed.

Here's wishing Monty Oum all the best and a speedy recovery. The thoughts and best wished of myself and my dearest friends are with you.

(R) :: (W) :: (B) :: (Y)

Chapter Two – Diversions

Ruby had been almost as bubbly and excited as her team mates had expected, but she seemed to be trying to keep a lid on her excitement. She was excited when she got some cards from her classmates at Signal, and squealed when she got a box of cookies from her uncle. But oddly enough she only had a couple before closing the box and putting them away on her shelf.

It had been the same during lunch earlier on. Team JNPR had given Ruby a card signed by all of them as well as some small presents, a picture frame from Ren containing a group picture of Team RWBY, a rose themed hairclip from Pyrrha, a bag of sweets from Nora and a book on weapons from Jaune.

Ruby loved all of the presents, because it showed that her friends knew things that were important to her and had taken those thoughts into account when getting the presents. But again oddly enough Ruby seemed to try and curb her enthusiasm and only had a hand full of the sweets Nora got for her.

Everyone had fun chatting about various topics over lunch, and thankfully no one revisited the discussions about Cardin's comments before. Both teams knew that Ruby was still sensitive about her leadership abilities and they all wanted to get her thinking about more pleasant things so that she would be her cheerful self again.

Cardin himself had kept his distance, shooting the group a dirty look, but he averted his gaze when Yang, Blake, Pyrrha and Jaune noticed his look and returned harsh glares of their own when Ruby was looking at the picture frame, chatting animatedly with Weiss.

Weiss briefly noticed the looks her friends were shooting behind her and didn't need to turn around to see what was going on, she just have a subtle nod to the four before she turned her attention back to her partner. She smiled as she remembered when the picture had been taken; it was taken two weeks before, when the two teams had gone out to a quiet area on the edge of the Emerald forest for an inter-team picnic.

The fact was it was hardly anything special, Yang had some music playing on her scroll, and Pyrrha and Blake had taken care of the food, and everyone was sat on blankets just relaxing and exchanging banter and general conversation, but all of them agreed that it was a fantastic day out, nothing extravagant, just a simple gathering of friends enjoying each other's company.

Weiss chuckled as Ruby reminisced about some of the jokes that had been tossed about that day and caught Pyrrha giving the heiress a subtle smile and a thumbs up, the envelope Weiss had given the warrior in her other hand, quickly hidden from Ruby's sight. Weiss smiled and nodded in return, and her attention was once again on her partner. With Pyrrha's confirmation, one more part of her plan had fallen into place.

Suddenly, Weiss' scroll started chiming, indicating an incoming call. With an apologetic look the heiress got up and went into the hallway to answer, not noticing the slightly unhappy look on Ruby's face as she left.

Ruby watched Weiss talking into her scroll through the doorway and wondered once again what was going on with the heiress, because this wasn't the first time Weiss had suddenly taken off for some reason.

Over the last few weeks Weiss had been disappearing to read messages or take calls on her scroll several times a day. It didn't matter if the heiress was reading or talking with her friends, the second her scroll started chiming, she would excuse herself as fast as possible. The only times she didn't get a call was when she was in class.

Ruby had asked a few times what the calls and messages were about, the first time Weiss had firmly told Ruby to mind her own business, but after a moment she had calmed down and apologised for snapping, but said that it was a private matter, something to do with the company, and then she went back to her call and stepped into the hallway.

This situation kept repeating itself, Weiss getting a call or message, and sometimes Ruby would ask about them only to be told that it was something private. In the past Weiss had mentioned that sometimes her family would contact her with regards to a potential suitor. Of course Weiss never showed any interest in those arrangements, and the few times that one of them called, Weiss had spared no effort into dissuading the suitor from calling her again.

One suitor had been reduced to tears just before Weiss had ended the call in a huff.

"Hey, what's up Ruby?"

Ruby jumped slightly and turned her attention to her sister, who, along with Blake and team JNPR, was looking at her with curiosity and slight concern. Ruby flushed slightly, her social anxiety flaring up once again.

"Huh, sorry, what was that Yang?" She asked unsurely, fidgeting slightly in her seat.

Yang shared a look with Blake and the two girls nodded imperceptibly, both realising the cause of their leaders lack of attention to the current situation.

"I asked what's up; you've barely touched your lunch. That's not like you sis, is there something wrong?" Yang asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

Ruby squirmed in her seat, really not wanting to talk about what was bothering her, but knowing that she couldn't hide it from Yang forever. Sisters always know when something is up with their sibling, and older sisters are always able to figure out what the younger sister was trying to hide. At least that's how Ruby saw it, because Yang had an almost psychic ability to pick up on anything and everything that was causing Ruby some kind of concern.

The problem was that this usually led to monumental teasing or advice that the younger girl could never follow.

Ruby eventually sighed in defeat, knowing that Yang would ferret out the problem, but she was hoping that the presence of all of her friends would help keep the pun-loving girl from teasing her sister too much.

"Well...I'm kinda...that is...I-I...oh, I'm worried about Weiss." Ruby eventually got out, looking at the table and just waiting for the embarrassing comments to start.

"Why are you worried about her Ruby?" Blake asked, her voice gentle and reassuring, and when Ruby looked up, she saw Blake looking at her with a small, kind smile.

She couldn't have seen that Blake had stepped slightly on one of Yang's toes with her Stiletto, not hard enough to hurt, but the implied warning was there and had been understood.

Ruby sat for a few moments, noticing that Team JNPR were giving her encouraging looks, silently offering their help to the unsure teenager. Taking a deep breath and trying to relax she started speaking.

"Well, she's always getting these calls and disappearing for a while talking on her scroll, and sometimes she can be talking for hours! Have I done something to make her mad at me again? I mean I haven't used the whistle in over two months! And why is she so distant these days? I can't even talk to her properly, it's like she's avoiding me!"

Ruby kept laying everything down before her friends, who were fighting down the instinct to flinch with every other word Ruby said. They all knew, thanks to Weiss' note, what was going on and why the heiress was talking on her scroll allot, but if they wanted to save the plan they couldn't say a thing. No one, it seemed, had taken into account how the plan would start to upset the younger girl.

Ruby's prowess on the battlefield and natural talent had a rather difficult side effect that caused problems sometimes. The fact was, everyone else at Beacon was at least 17, however Ruby was still very young. Add that to her slightly introverted and shy personality, it was no wonder that the girl would start getting concerned over one of her friends suddenly acting distant. Sometimes her friends completely forgot the fact that Ruby was younger than the rest of them.

Pyrrha stood up and moved around the table, sitting next to Ruby and putting a comforting arm around the shorter girl's shoulders.

"I don't know exactly what Weiss is doing, but I really don't think that she is upset at you, she is always sitting next to you in class after all."

"Yeah that's right, if she was really avoiding you she could just move to another seat." Jaune piped up, trying to help encourage his fellow team leader.

Yang and Blake kept supportive smiles on their faces but quickly locked their gazes, silently coming to an agreement that they needed to speak to Weiss as soon as they could.

"Ruby, if it's that big a problem then you should talk to Weiss about it. I don't think she realises that this is upsetting you this much." Blake's careful, logical words helped to cut through Ruby's concern. Blake and Yang could see Ruby starting to relax and think things through and they silently breathed a sigh of relief.

"Besides, she's probably got allot of things coming through from SDC to deal with, remember, her dad's the owner of the whole company after all, she gave you that leaflet on our first day remember?" Yang decided to add into the discussion.

"Yeah...yeah I guess you're right. Thanks allot you guys." Ruby eventually said after thinking everything over, managing a small but honest smile.

A little while later everyone around the table was chatting amicably about various topics, including the private training Pyrrha was giving Jaune. Everyone was rather surprised when the redhead mentioned that Jaune was steadily getting better at fighting.

"Seriously? Are you honestly telling me 'He' is getting better?" Yang asked incredulously, pointing an accusing finger at Jaune, who visibly deflated at the gesture.

"Yes I am and he is. He's been getting progressively more confident; he even landed several blows before I knocked him down." Pyrrha replied, looking at Yang with an expression on her face that almost said 'I dare you to argue with me.', thankfully a dare the blond did not take up.

"That's great! I knew you could do it Jaune!" Ruby exclaimed, unintentionally easing the minor tension that had been caused just moments before. Jaune smiled bashfully and he relaxed into his seat, taking a sip of his drink.

"He certainly can, a good kick to the leg and a punch to the stomach, and he can now block most of my moves."

For an instant Yang looked like she was about to make another comment, but she stopped when she noticed the raised eyebrow Pyrrha shot in her direction. A moment later a chime echoed throughout the cafeteria signalling that the lunch period was over and students had to make their way back to their classes.

Both teams RWBY and JNPR quickly finished the remains of their meals and picked up their trays, putting them on the side of the kitchen area for the staff to deal with later, all the while sharing curious banter about the next class they were going to be taking.

As they left the cafeteria, Yang and Blake immediately spotted Weiss making her way back to the group, putting her scroll back into her pouch quickly and smiling at her team mates. Ruby turned around and noticed Weiss had joined them, her own expression immediately brightening.

"Weiss! Hey! How was...I mean, everything, you know, ok?"

Weiss could feel her expression softening, and it was all that she could do not to smile at the adorable sight of Ruby going from just fine to painfully nervous in the space of no seconds flat. She nodded at Ruby and checked the time on her scroll, frowning slightly as she noticed how much time was left before their next class.

"Yes everything is fine Ruby, but if we don't get to class Professor Goodwitch is going to make sure things ARENT fine." Weiss responded, nodding in the direction of the classes.

Ruby didn't have anything she could add to that and simply nodded, falling onto step next to her partner. As the group walked, Ruby couldn't help but steal glances at Weiss, partly wondering why the heiress has been so distant recently, but mostly marvelling at the changes in her relationship with the older girl in the past few months.

No one could deny the changes between team RWBY's leader and the heiress, almost every day the two were together, working on class assignments, having lunch in the cafeteria, or just wandering around the campus talking. It was a stark change from their first interactions, Weiss chastising Ruby for some error, no matter how small, the younger girl trying desperately to appease her team mate.

Indeed it was more unusual to see the two apart, and rarer still to see them not smiling.

Ruby still felt it was strange, the changes in Weiss' attitude, the closeness they now shared, it was all so bizarre to her, yet so wonderful and precious. Ruby didn't think there was anything that she wouldn't give to keep this companionship she now shared with Weiss.

She remembered the morning after her food poisoning, when she had awoken to find herself wrapped in Weiss' arms. When she opened her eyes, it took some time for her to realise what she was seeing; Weiss still deep asleep, her arms cradling the younger girl to her chest. It took her a moment more to realise that was the source of the comforting rhythm that had greeted her as she awoke from her sleep.

As Weiss' gentle heartbeat threatened to send her back to sleep, Ruby's eyes suddenly went wide as she realised where exactly she was. Her entire body froze and she held her breath, almost desperately trying to figure out what was going on. The sudden surge of panic was more than enough to clear any remaining drowsiness from her mind and she quickly remembered the events of the previous day.

Weiss' visit to the company who catered for the party, Blake and Yang trying to distract her from worrying about the heiress, and falling asleep still upset and wishing her partner was there with her, hugging the older girl's bolero jacket as close as possible, she remembered all of it.

And she couldn't help feeling like a pathetic little brat.

As she laid there, an unhappy frown on her face, Ruby thought about the day before. She really didn't know why it was so important to her that Weiss was there, or why she was so upset when Weiss left. The only thing she knew for certain about the experience was when Weiss was by her side and holding her hand or taking care of her, she felt safe.

'_But I'm the leader; I should be making my team mates feel safe! I shouldn't be getting sick like this!' _

As the sun started to filter into the dorm room, Ruby kept as still as possible, trying to make sense of what was going on, all the while, self-doubts and recriminations rolled around her head like a stormy sea.

She didn't even notice when she clutched herself closer to the heiress, the warmth of the older girl slowly soothing her worries, even though it could do nothing to ease them.

At the very least they weren't getting any worse.

"How are you feeling?"

It took everything Ruby had to keep the surprised squeak quiet, her entire body going rigid at the unexpected question. Very slowly she turned her head to look towards the other side of the room, and saw the affectionate yet amused glint in Blake's amber eyes. Blake's smile only grew as she saw Weiss Roll over onto her side, letting Ruby lay on her back to face Blake properly, and she grinned slightly as her young leader started babbling.

"B-Blake! I swear I didn't do anything! I-I-I don't know what happened b-b-but-"

"It's ok Ruby."

"-I really don't know why Weiss is here or anything really! This is all just a-

As it became apparent that Ruby would keep going in professing her innocence, Blake simply shook her head bemusedly and walked over, putting her hand over her yammering leaders mouth. The Faunus girl chuckled quietly as Ruby seemed determined to get her point across, her ramblings confined to quiet mumblings behind Blake's hand.

It took about thirty seconds for Ruby to realise that Blake wasn't listening to her, and it only made the young girl blush even more than she was before as she stopped trying to talk, finally taking note that she was prevented from speaking at the moment.

Once Ruby had stopped mumbling and was simply laying there, the picture of supreme embarrassment, Blake waited a moment more to make sure her leader wasn't going to start speaking and took her hand away, moving it up to Ruby's forehead to check her temperature.

"You don't feel as warm as you did yesterday, how's your stomach?"

Ruby looked away for a moment before looking back at Blake, her shoulders slowly relaxing. She was beyond grateful for the change in topic, and was determined to avoid the subject of her current sleeping arrangement as much as she possibly could.

"It feels better, but still a bit weird. I'm hungry though..."

Blake smiled gently and rubbed Ruby's head a little, making the younger girl smile a bit for the first time that morning.

"I'm not surprised, a hand full of crackers do not a full meal make. Unfortunately we'll have to stick with them until the doctor says otherwise. Or would you rather some toast? I can get some from the cafeteria."

The second Blake mentioned the crackers, Ruby's expression did a marvellous job of expressing her distaste at the idea of eating more of the bland biscuits, but after a few seconds her expression changed, giving her a depressed appearance.

"No...I'll have the crackers...I don't want to bother you more than I already have."

Blake frowned at the unhappy look on Ruby's face, instinctively knowing what the younger girl was thinking about.

"Ruby don't be silly, people get ill every day, and it isn't limited to the average person. Police officers, doctors, judges, even government leaders, they can all get sick at some time, and just because they get sick doesn't mean that they let people down and fail them. You haven't bothered us ok?" The Faunus girl spoke gently but firmly, her gaze locked on Ruby's uncertain silver eyes. Ruby looked away, for a moment trying to hold on to her melancholy state, but after a moment, she looked back at the Faunus girl and smiled, nodding her head gently and relaxing once more, unconsciously settling more into the arms of her partner.

Neither Blake nor Ruby noticed the slight curling at the corners of Weiss' mouth.

A few moments later, Blake came back to see that her young leader had fallen asleep. Blake smiled gently and laid the packet of crackers on the corner of the cabinet, leaving the two sleeping partners to their rest.

Ruby shook the recollection out of her head as she noticed she had been daydreaming all the way to the class room.

"So, anyone have an idea what this 'something special' Goodwitch mentioned is?" Yang asked, immediately grabbing the attention of both teams.

"I'm not sure, she seems to think it's going to be fun but at the same time she is acting like it's something VERY important." Pyrrha's reply was meted by nods of agreement throughout both teams, who couldn't really think of anything else that would fit. Goodwitch wasn't often very subtle when it came to her lesson plans

"But why would she tell us about something interesting before the lesson? She's never given us a heads up like that before; remember some of the surprise tests she's thrown at us?" Ruby piped up, her voice becoming rather disgruntled at the memory.

Professor Goodwitch had taken over a class in Grimm Studies the month before and handed out a surprise test, something no one was expecting, and several students had some trouble with the sudden test, but none more so than Ruby considering the test was of intermediate to advanced level, even for first years.

It seems that no one had taken into account the gap in Ruby's education, considering her prodigal jump from Signal to Beacon. Needless to say Ruby's confidence had taken a beating when she was told she had failed that test by a significant margin.

Naturally Team WBY, once they found out of course, made sure to go straight to professor Goodwitch, who had the decency to look embarrassed, considering several of the topics covered in the test she handed out were subjects taught to students the year BEFORE they came to Beacon.

Ruby was told that her score from the test would be voided and a new test would be compiled for her, and her teachers informed to take into account her early admission. After that, Ruby sat the new test the next day and did very well, almost getting a perfect grade.

"Don't worry about it Ruby, they learned from the last time, I promise!" Yang reassured, grabbing Ruby around the neck and pulling her into a hug, making the shorter girl start frantically waving her arms to try and get away.

"Yes Yang and you almost got suspended when you said you'd 'Bust some heads' if they didn't sort the problem." Was Blake's deadpan response as she pried her partners arm away from Ruby, allowing the younger girl to drop to her knees and cough as she tried to breathe through her slightly bruised throat.

Weiss was at her partners side immediately, helping her to stand and rubbing the younger girls back to help ease the coughing. Ruby smiled at the gesture and swallowed a little, the pain passing quickly, as Blake and Weiss shot pointed looks at Yang, who seemed almost oblivious to the discomfort she had just put her sister through.

Team JNPR decided to stay out of the situation and were pointedly looking anywhere other than at their neighbour team.

As they waited for the doors to open and admit the students, Weiss leaned against the wall and relaxed, her mind drifting to the last few preparations that she needed to take care of. Or at least that was her plan, because she was disturbed from her thoughts by the arrival of her Faunus team mate, who was leaning against the wall next to the heiress as close as possible without invading personal space.

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I'm going to ask that you be a bit more careful with the calls you get, Ruby's getting rather upset." Blake muttered, her comment only audible to the girl next to her.

Weiss raised an eyebrow as a sudden stab of vexation shot through her mind, an almost instinctive reaction to potential criticism. However, knowing that Blake more than likely had a good reason for commenting, and the fact that it was apparently causing trouble for Ruby, Weiss fell back on a tactic she had found to be almost a regular occurrence in the last few months, and took a deep breath, counted to three, then asked her team mate to elaborate.

Weiss found it made things more pleasant dealing with situations like this when she did not immediately start shouting at the other person she was speaking to.

Making sure to keep her voice as quiet as possible, knowing Blake's sensitive hearing could pick up her response, Weiss eased into a relaxed stance, trying to avoid drawing any attention to herself, and trying to keep the slight edge of concern out of her voice.

"How are the calls upsetting her?"

"She's begun to think that she's done something to upset you, according to her you've taken allot of calls at various times during the day, and she said you've been a bit distant, as if you're trying to avoid her. She's probably confused at the change in routine, you two have been practically inseparable for the last few weeks, but with you taking these calls and all the other preparations, it's clear to see you haven't been able to spend as much time with Ruby. None of us considered that she would notice you working allot on the preparations."

Blake spoke with a slow pace, making sure to pause whenever she saw Ruby glance anywhere near Blake's general direction. Weiss maintained a calm, if bored expression on her face, but Blake could spot the heiress' eyes narrowing very slightly at the corners, and her mouth pulling down into an almost invisible frown.

Blake felt a good deal of sympathy for the shorter woman, knowing what it was like trying to do one thing, but getting a completely different result for her efforts.

"I wanted to tell you about this before things went any further. We convinced Ruby to come and talk to you at some point, but I wanted to let you know what was going on, and give you some time to come up with a cover story. Yang mentioned 'SDC business', which may be a good option to go with."

Weiss had a thoughtful look on her face and nodded minutely, her mind already working to process the information she had been given. The heiress thought that everything had been going according to plan, but she hadn't considered that all the effort she had been focusing into making sure that her plan went off without a hitch would upset the person she was working so hard for. It was an oversight that left Weiss wanting to kick herself.

"Thanks for telling me Blake, I'll sort something out after class."

***  
>End of Chapter 2<p>

Authors notes: Ok, I know I'm doing this allot but I really can't apologise enough for the massive delays for this chapter. Writers block and not having enough time to work on the story have been a major hindrance to me.

But I just want to make one thing perfectly clear. There is NO WAY I will abandon this story! It may take longer than I hoped, it may even take a few YEARS (I hope not), but this story will be finished come snow, wind, fire, earthquake, or plague of snakes! (Bonus points to anyone who can guess where that came from)

Now, there's one thing that I felt I should clarify with my story. Technically it could be considered an AU because I have edited or plain ignored several parts of the canon story line. This is not because I don't want to include them, far from it, for example I would love to have Penny asking odd little questions all over the place, or have Sun strutting his stuff and making smart aleck comments.

The reason I haven't included them in this story is because for right now where the story is, I haven't found a point to bring these characters in that is believable. I also don't want to diverge from canon too much (or at least any more than I have already) So just give me some time, and I'll do my best to introduce some more characters.

And on the subject, I'm sure some people have wondered if there will be any Bumblebee or other pairings in this story. The simple answer to that question is this: I really don't know.

Personally I find White Rose pairings easier to write rather than Bumblebee, Blake and Yang I see as best friends, or as close to being sisters as possible at times, at other times it seems like they just don't mesh at all. Remember if you will what happened when it was revealed that Blake was a Faunus, Yang sat in her chair and didn't move when Blake ran off, and after that when the girls were searching for Blake, the only one who seemed intensely concerned with finding her was Ruby. Yang just, to be perfectly blunt, didn't look too bothered.

Then again with Yang getting Blake to take a rest and go to the dance, that previous argument was destroyed, but thinking about it, the dance isn't anywhere close considering where I am with my story so far.

Maybe I'm reading into the situation in a completely different direction to everyone else, but the fact is I see Yang and Blake as dear friends, but I have trouble seeing them as a couple. I'm not saying that people who like that pairing are wrong, not at all, in fact there are a few stories I have read that have a really good Bumblebee pairing, but I just have trouble seeing how I could pair Blake and Yang together in a believable romantic relationship.

Plus, Blake has allot on her plate worrying about what the White fang are up to, dealing with a sudden relationship with her partner might just make her snap in my mind.

As for other relationships such as Pyrrah and Jaune, or Ren and Nora, there's no way I could possibly top what has been seen on screen for them, excluding Ren and Nora, who 'aren't really "together"...eh he he...'. In the end, I just want to focus on just one pairing for now, and then see how things go.

See you Next time.


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